Mayor will testify on Safe Clear

Mayor Bill White plans to testify in federal court today on behalf of the Safe Clear program, telling officials how the city has changed the mandatory towing scheme to follow a judge's orders last fall.

The program has been under fire since it began last year. It originally only allowed wreckers with contracts for particular sections of the city to tow stalled cars off highways in those sections of town, but after complaints from towing companies a court order forced the city to allow people to call their own tow trucks. The towing industry still claims the program infringes on its rights by preventing 1,000 tow trucks from racing to compete at every accident scene, so it's asking for a court order that would allow any wrecker to clear cars from Houston highways, whether they have contracts or not.

White said he isn't going to give on the issue: "We will fight the towing industry for the safety of the public," he told reporters. We can just imagine the scene as the mayor leaves the courthouse after his testimony today and finds his car "accidentally" towed.